Metro Vancouver parks under ‘significant stress’

Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun05.31.2012

Metro Vancouver is floating the idea of selling sections of parkland with “low-recreational value” as well as fundraising, borrowing money and raising rental fees to maintain and acquire parks over the next 30 years in order to serve the region’s growing population. Photo: Strathcona Provincial Park

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Metro Vancouver is floating the idea of selling sections of parkland with “low-recreational value” as well as fundraising, borrowing money and raising rental fees to maintain and acquire parks over the next 30 years in order to serve the region’s growing population.

A staff report, which will go to the environment and parks committee next week, states Metro’s regional parks are under “significant stress” — with aging infrastructure and congested trails — and the regional district must at least double its current annual funding to improve the situation.

Metro now budgets $6.3 million annually for parks, but would need between $12 million and $15 million per year to fulfil a wish list of park projects by 2041, the staff report concludes. It notes many of the projects should have been done “some years ago,” while others require extensive repairs or will have to be closed before the plan catches up.

“There’s significant disconnect in the funding available and what our plans currently say we need in terms of land and trails and replacement buildings,” said Metro parks manager Gaetan Royer.

Metro needs $1.36 billion — $1.1 billion for land acquisition — over the next 30 years to provide 3,000 hectares of new parks and purchase 2,500 ha in deficient parcels (pieces of private land in the middle of existing parks) — to accommodate another million people expected in the region by 2041, Royer said.

Without the funding, the report says, the approved plans would have to be scaled back, noting at today’s rate of acquisition it will take 300 years to acquire the land the plan proposes is needed by 2041.

Metro Vancouver, which already has 14,000 hectares of parkland, currently pays for it, as well as facilities and trails, on a pay-as-you-go basis. But staff is now floating other potential funding options to pad its coffers, including increasing property taxes; boosting rental and registration fees; instituting development cost charges; borrowing money; or fundraising or seeking public donations for park projects.

Another proposal is to sell parcels of acquired parkland that aren’t suitable for recreation. This, for instance, could involve selling a section of land with a home on it, Royer said, noting this was done recently with parkland in Maple Ridge. That sale provided funds for other parks.

“It’s taking a real good look at what we own and what we have in our inventory and making sure we only keep pieces that are environmentally sensitive,” Royer said.

“We’re putting everything on the table.”

Parks committee chairwoman Heather Deal said the committee will investigate all the options suggested by staff but she expects Metro won’t be able to achieve its wish list over the next 30 years given the tight funding constraints.

She has asked staff for a map of all the parks in Metro, including those owned by the regional district, the provincial government and individual municipalities, to determine the highest-priority park spaces.

“I would love to see us raise the money we need,” said Deal, a Vancouver councillor. “But just to maintain the status quo, we’re not going to be able to do it.”

Deal noted asking the public to pay more taxes is a “hit people aren’t willing to take at this time,” but she expects the parks committee will likely see a combination of all the staff proposals used to pay for parks. Both Deal and park committee director Harold Steves, a Richmond councillor, also support fundraising or soliciting public donations to maintain and build new parks and facilities. Richmond, for instance, made a deal with Ducks Unlimited to share the cost of purchasing a 65-hectare marsh by the dike.

The parks committee is also open to investigating money-generating ventures proposed by the private sector, but no viable options have yet come forward.

“People have a huge amount of respect and really value park space,” Deal said. “Park space is where you spend your free time and it’s at a premium ... we should be very cautious of how we approach it. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”

Since the Lower Mainland regional park system concept was launched in 1966, Metro Vancouver has acquired 22 regional parks, four regional greenways and four park reserves.

ksinoski@vancouversun.com

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Metro Vancouver parks under ‘significant stress’

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